Summer Challenge 2024
Las Vegas-Clark County Library District
Innovation Synopsis
For Summer Challenge 2024, we experimented with new methods to drive participation and awareness of our neighborhood libraries and the resources they offer. Staff scheduled exciting and interactive events plus new partners and premium incentives for kids, teens and adults. Beyond our traditional marketing efforts, we worked with library marketing firm OrangeBoy, which uses U.S. Census data to target noncardholders and integrates with our catalog to track activity spikes among existing cardholders, enabling us to innovate our outreach. Additional tactics included:
1. Expanded STEAM Programming for Adults & Kids to boost the decline in reading and STEAM skills.
2. Partner Development: Collaborated with sports, education and entertainment brands to attract the public with cool prizes to keep them engaged throughout.
3. New Marketing Tools: Maximized our outreach with U.S. Census data, QR coded direct mail, targeted email blasts and geotargeted mobile ads.
Challenge/Opportunity
While the structure of the Library District’s largest annual literacy program for kids had evolved over the last 10 years, participation remained stagnant. Our partnership with the school district was not an effective means for distribution of the Summer Challenge brochures, even before the pandemic. And its after-effects loomed large, with kids falling even further behind academically. We needed a jumpstart to get brochures and messaging directly into parents’ hands. Our specific goals were to:
- Introduce non-cardholders to the library, especially low-income and Spanish-speaking households.
- Re-engage lapsed cardholders.
- Reach audiences more efficiently. In previous years, we relied on the school district to distribute our SC brochure to students, and results were poor. Parents are our primary audience, so we needed a new way to reach them directly.
- Once registered, the goal was to increase program engagement, especially Minutes Read and Activities Completed.
Key Elements of Innovation
- Must-See Programming: Kids/teens-music, interactive science & magic events, anime drawing, Hip Hop Architecture Camp. Adults-internat’l cultural events, best-selling author & US Poet Laureate, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration; astrology, guitar, painting & poetry classes
- Added an Adult Program: Tested in 2022; permanent in 2023
- Community Partners: Major brands including the NBA, Vegas Golden Knights, a hip education/entertainment venue plus 2 major restaurant chains provided premium prizes & programs
- Marketing & Incentives: Outreach through the school district was suspended in favor of new outreach methods to supplement PR, social media, paid ads & posts:
- Cool incentive prizes for early registration & participation
- Direct mail of the kids’ brochure & 2 follow-up postcards w/ trackable QR codes went to 40,000 non-cardholders in low-income English & Spanish HHs
- Separate emails targeting adults & kids/teen cardholders
- Geotargeted mobile ads w/ trackable QR codes
Achieved Outcomes
The programming and marketing strategies implemented in 2024 resulted in record-breaking Summer Challenge engagement as well as spikes in library card sign-ups and cardholder/noncardholder activity. This enormously successful strategy will serve as a model for 2025.
Tactics & Results
• Adult email blast: 45% open rate
• Kids/Teens email blast: 43% open rate
• Direct mail w/ QR code to noncardholders & geotargeted mobile ads: 4,456 clicks
• Geotargeted mobile ads: 500K impressions
• Paid social media posts: $21K spend, 424K engagements, 52K link clicks
• Earned media: 16 news stories, up 100% over 2023
Impact
• 15,504 Registrations, up 59%
• 135,229 Completed Activities, up 36%
• 7.1M Minutes Read, up 71%
• 6,131 or 15% direct-mail recipients signed up for a library card
• 54,057 or 18% of email blast recipients who were lapsed cardholders checked out an item
• 31,517 recorded activities among customers who opened the email
• Brochure printing cut by 170K pcs
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